Page 43 of Venom Sweeter than Honey
Shock does not adequately capture the depth of the emotion.
“What…”
Lucen lifts his forearm resting on the arm of his chair. A cream colored envelope with a broken black wax seal appears between his middle and forefingers.
I snatch the letter from him, eyes swiftly scanning four words over and over again.
Your debt is cleared.
“Apparently, I underestimated just how much yourcompanywas worth.”
I toss the note into his lap.
“I didn’t fuck him, Lucen.”
Lucen’s head tips back with laughter.
“I never took you for a liar, Raia. Strangely, it suits you.”
Drawing in a shuddering breath, I reach for the ring on my finger to yank it off. It doesn’t budge. I try towillit away. Still, it remains.
Lucen chuckles around the lip of his glass.
“I knew that would come in handy one day. I just didn’t realize it would be so soon.”
Fear clogs my throat.“What have you done?”
“Protected my assets.”
I tug uselessly at the ring as panic begins to wind through me. I try tofoldaway. To escape this new hell.
“Palladium would have been far too obvious. I needed something more subtle. Something that would prevent you from using your magic against me or my will.”
Lucen gulps down the last of his drink andwillsaway the glass as he rises from his chair, gripping the cane in one hand.
His lip curls at the sight of me. “You look thoroughly fucked.”
“I went for a swim, you prick. He wasn’t even there.”
The look in Lucen’s reddened gaze is nothing short of malevolent as he gives a dark chuckle. “I don’t know why you bother lying, Raia. We both know what was expected of you. And it’s not like he hasn’t already fucked his way through everyone else at my brothel.”
He towers over me, forcing me to stumble backwards. “Your what?”
Lucen groans. “This is getting old, Raia. I tried. Really, I did. I tried to hide the awful truth from you because you were so beautiful and untouched and sodifferent. You were a breath of fresh air. For the first time in my life, I felt like I couldhavesomething. Just for me. Just this once.”
He shakes his head, eyes raking over me with desire and disgust in equal measure. “Now, you’re just as filthy as the rest of them.”
Lucen’s grip tightens on the length of cane, knuckles whitening. “So now, you’re going to work for me. The brothel is nice enough. Better than whatever hole you crawled out of.”
My whole world is turning upside down and inside out. I have no words. The male standing before me is a monster. A monster that’s been hiding behind a facade that I fell in love with. How is it possible that I have been so thoroughly fooled?
My back finally hits a wall. I attempt tofoldaway again. Yet here I remain.
Lucen brings his nose to my throat.
“What, did you try to bathe his cum off you in the sea?”
My throat works as fear grips my throat. “He didn’t?—”
